Jeanskynebu the audience applauded

NekoHomey Purely Joyful Movie!

Acensbart Excellent but underrated film

Jenni Devyn Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.

krocheav What the world anyone truly sees in Roger Corman movies is at loss to me. While this one may be part of his early days - he never improved all that much for my tastes - his appeal is surley limited to those who have a bent towards BAD movies. This one offers us a female lead in the lovely and talented Beverly Garland who clearly deserved far better material but, with stinkers like 'Gunslinger' on her résumé she never had a chance. She plays a 'female sheriff' who has to look for her holster each time she puts her gun away - then there's the saloon with all of three small tables and less than a dozen clients who sit around watching all three (3) dance hall gals doing their best to keep in time (in a Randolph Scott Picture, any less than 23 song and dance ladies would have been cheap). John Ireland is OK in his limited way but the script gives him nothing to work with - same goes for the whole cast of a dozen or more. MGM/UA who has given us some fine rare gems - must have far more deserving movies to transfer to DVD than this penny pinching, idea stealing, dog eared oater. For the very easily pleased, if even they want to bother.

zardoz-13 When two gunmen blast the town marshal of Oracle, Texas, in an ambush, the marshal's widow not only kills the shooter, but she also takes over her dead husband's job to track down the accomplice and discover who paid them. Low-budget producer & director Roger Corman cut a different trail with the off-beat 1956 western "Gunslinger" by making the western hero into a heroine. This represents one of the earliest examples of a feminist horse opera. Beverly Garland stars as Ruth Hood, the widow who wears the star and lays down the law, at least for a week until her replacement arrives. Chiefly, "Gunslinger" illustrates the theme of women versus women. The marshal's wife and an ambitious female entrepreneur saloon owner go toe-to-toe so women versus women qualifies as the foremost theme of "Gunslinger." Meanwhile, our heroine defies the social patriarchal order when she appropriates her husband's badge to finish the job that he started. The least prevalent theme is women versus men, though Ruth tangles with several guys and guns them down. Corman designed "Gunslinger" as a different kind of movie and could only have been thinking of attracting a female audience as well as dyed-in-the-leather western movie fans. The Charles Griffith & Mark Hanna script unfolds in chronological fashion, charting a week in the life of Oracle, Texas, as the heroine and the villainess await a decision by a railroad firm about whether it will build its rail lines through the town as well as when the new marshal will arrive.The most important theme in "Gunslinger" is women versus women. The entire movie is a showdown between two women with neither prepared to give an inch. When Ruth Hood brings her husband, Marshal Scott Hood (William Schallert of "Hour of the Gun"), her breakfast, she has no idea that two gunmen working for Erica Page (Allison Hayes of "The Steel Jungle") who runs the Red Dog Saloon are poised to kill him. Scott tells Ruth that he has been out all night trying to track down a killer Nate Signal. Erica Page's name comes up in the conversation because she warned him about Marshal Hood's interest in him and got away from the lawman could catch him. Ruth sees Erica as the source of all the trouble in Oracle. Scott shrugs and asks his wife, "How, who in the world could stand up to that woman?" Ruth asserts that she could stand up to Erica. Before his husband dies, Ruth has indicated that she can stand up against Erica, foreshadowing their feud. At Scott's funeral, Ruth shoots the gunman standing alongside Erica and goads Mayor Gideon Polk into pinning the badge on her so she can smoke out the murderer. When Polk suggests that the two men did it alone, Ruth rejects this theory. Neither one knew her husband well enough to want to kill him. No, she contends that somebody else hired them and the guilty party had a reason to want her husband dead. She plans to remain marshal until she find the person behind the murder of her husband. Later, after Scott dies, Ruth imposed the curfew on Erica's saloon that Scott had not enforced so that Erica has to close up at 3 AM. Following the funeral and Ruth being sworn in as marshal, Ruth visits the Red Dog Saloon. When Erica refuses to shut down, Ruth and she have a brief fight and Ruth knocks her out. and forces Erica to shut down after 3 AM. Indeed, the entire plot of "Gunslinger" concerns the rivalry between Ruth as lawman and Erica as an entrepreneur who wants to own the land that the railroad will have to cross before it arrives in town. The second most important theme in "Gunslinger" is women versus society. The mayor isn't overly enthusiastic about swearing Ruth in as marshal to replace her husband. Ruth's deputy shares the mayor's sentiment. He observes as she is buckling on her gun belt, "I reckon some people won't thing it proper for a new widow to go around in pants, even if they are black." Ruth retorts, "Did you ever see a peace officer in a corset?" This reflects the feeling that the men and women of the Oracle, or what constitutes the society, won't feel good about a woman taking over a man's job. Similarly, Erica finds herself up against the same prejudice when Mayor Polk visits her saloon after hours one evening. Polk has discovered when he pored over the deeds in the land office that Erica has extended her notes on property. In fact, Erica is buying up property that has been selected by the land commission as the suggested right of way for the railroad depot. Polk believes that Erica's gamble is "the height of speculation. He reminds her that the railroad doesn't have to come through Oracle. "Of course," he points out, "you realize how the town will feel if . . ." The implication is that the citizens of Oracle won't like Erica's highhandedness. Erica replies, "Sometimes I lie awake at night two or three seconds worrying about it." Clearly, Erica doesn't care what society thinks about her.Ranking third is the theme of women versus men. Erica hires a professional gunslinger, Cane Miro (John Ireland of "Red River") to kill Ruth, but Cane is not in any hurry to earn his three thousand dollars. Meanwhile, Ruth proves her mettle against men by gunning down the assailant that murdered Scott in the first scene. Later, at Scott's funeral, Ruth slings dirt into a gunman's face, snatches a deputy's six-gun and blasts the man. As it turns out, Ruth recognized the man at the funeral as the accomplice. Later, Ruth guns down a bank robber. After she meets Cane, she gives him five days to clear out of town. "Gunslinger" is a top-notch feminist western from the late 1950s that thrusts a woman into a role usually reserved for men.

billshattner I love this film. True, it's got flaws, and no small amount of them. It's slow, somewhat predictable, and a bit clichéd. Heck, even the acting is questionable in some areas (although, not from three of the performers; see below). That being said, one can't help but become mildly invested in the story as it develops, and as that happens, the mediocre sets seem to slowly dissolve into obscurity. None of that, however, touches on the reason most directly responsible for my affinity for this film. For that, one must look to the performances of John Ireland, Allison Hayes, and Beverly Garland. Cast in the three lead roles of the film, their acting was absolutely critical to the appeal of the movie. And, in that regard, I can gladly say that they all do an excellent job. Allison Hayes is wonderful as the tough, shrewd businesswoman, and lends some real credibility to the movie. In particular, her scene with Bruno Vesota is a good example of her acting in this film. Then, we have the strong, earnest performance of John Ireland. From his dynamic interaction with Rose (Beverly Garland) to his believable hunger for vengeance, he displays fabulous versatility, and I feel gives the finest performance in the film. Lastly, we have the strength and vigor of Beverly Garland, who unfortunately is given some of the movie's most sappy dialogue, and yet, delivers a powerful performance as the widowed de-facto sheriff of a dangerous frontier town. As she does in most of her films, she exudes strength, and does much to make the audience at least sympathize with her. All in all, the three of them save this film, and make most of the scenes engaging. Again, this movie is not an Oscar-winner, and certainly isn't remembered as a Western classic. But I feel that's a small shame, because this movie isn't just watchable, it's enjoyable. Somewhere past all the signature nuances of a Corman movie, one can find a lovely little gem of a film in Gunslinger. So, if you get a chance to watch the original, or the MST3K version, do take the opportunity; you'll end up watching a good, old-fashioned action-drama.

tampamm I first saw this movie one Friday night/morning in the 80's while staying in a cheap Midwestern motel room. It was the late late show on a small local UHF channel. After a few minutes I knew why it was small local UHF channel affordable. It was perfectly dreadful even for an early Roger Corman effort. Which is saying something in and of itself. I was also struck by the thought of perhaps how desperate John Ireland's, an actor already with solid accomplishments (My Darling Clementine, Red River, All the King's Men), finances must have been in 1956 to appear in this disaster.Years later it popped up again without warning on the late great MST3K television show where it received a proper and hilarious skewing. Of course, Corman had served up inning after inning of softballs for the boys to drive out of the park, but they still managed to find gems I missed the first time. Two that had me in tears were the room/hallway scene, "come out," and the "authentic" old west saloon chorus girls.The original version of the Gunslinger should be mercifully forgotten. The MST3K version should not be missed! Somehow I think even Roger Corman is laughing too.